Ezekiel 12
by Pastor Mark Hudson
Remember in these early chapters, the dynamic Ezekiel is facing and the dynamic his listeners are experiencing. Ezekiel was removed from Jerusalem and is living in Babylon with about 10,000 other Jews forced to live in this ungodly, foreign country. Ezekiel and his contemporaries saw different sights, smelled different smells, ate unfamiliar food, and learned to speak a language that was not their own. Ezekiel often prophesied about (and against) Jerusalem, her people, and the temple even though he and his listeners were in Babylon. Remember Ezekiel’s father, Buzi, was a priest. So, Ezekiel was in the process of being trained for priesthood when he was called to be a prophet.
His call to ministry began by seeing this majestic vision of God in chapter 1. He is commissioned in chapter 2 and 3 and spends a week overwhelmed (3:15). Ezekiel never forgot that vision. The holiness, purity, beauty, and righteousness of God was THE motivator of his ministry. He had to repeat these same words of judgment we find in chapters 4-24 because his listeners were so utterly convinced Ezekiel was wrong.
His listeners heard the constant drumbeat of Ezekiel’s dire warnings, but they did not believe him. Jeremiah 5:12-13 was their ‘life verse,’ “He (God) will do nothing; no disaster will come up us, nor shall we see sword or famine. . . the word is not in them (the prophets).” These Jews in both Jerusalem and Babylon held on for dear life on the promise that God would always protect and defend the temple, Jerusalem, and His people. The bad people were all the non-Jews. God is on their side. And they had plenty of verses to buttress their position.
Read II Kings 25 for the fulfillment of verses 12:1-16. Ezekiel promises them that the ‘prince’ (King Zedekiah) would leave hurrying out in the evening by digging through the wall and as he went, he covered his face. He does this without saying a word. The next morning, God hears the consternating questioning so God tell them that this is what will happen to their king. God even says, “yet he shall not see it” because Zedekiah, after watching his sons killed, has his eyes blinded. And those who followed him would be scattered.
Then in verses 17-20, he was to eat his “bread with quaking and drink water with trembling and with anxiety” v. 18 to show that this is what will happen to those who live in Jerusalem. When the waves of people go to Babylon, this is not a vacation. The trip there and where they settled can’t have been pleasant. Yet, they still would not listen to Ezekiel.
In vs. 21-25, God responds to what the rebellious Jews are saying about God and Ezekiel’s warnings. They say, “The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing” in verse 22. In essence, ‘Ezekiel, you are Mr. negative and yet for as long as we have had to put up with you, nothing bad happens. You are not scary because nothing bad happens to us.’ God responds by saying in so many words, “My words will come true, and you will not be flattered or hear the false visions you love to hear. I know you hear My words and compare them with words you like. You prefer words of false comfort. Well, you will see whose words stand. I will speak the word and perform it” (v. 25, 28).
In verse 26, again we read God quoting the people. Stop and think about this: what if God quoted you? Would it be words of rebellion or submission He would quote? Listen to the lethargy in this quotation, “The vision that he (Ezekiel) sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off” v. 27. Or ‘Don’t listen to old sad sack. I don’t know what he is babbling on and on about, but it won’t happen in our lifetime. He is looking into the distant future. Let’s think about matters that affect us now. Let him dream dreams.’
This is one of the reasons why God describes these people in 12:2 as those “who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house.” They have eyes and ears but cannot see or hear for they are a rebellious house.” This is God describing these people, but He could be describing our nation. What tragedy awaits our nation if that is how He treated Israel (4-24) as well as the surrounding nations in chapters 25-32. What wrath will be unleashed for our rebellion.
Notice the repetition of the phrase, “and they shall know that I am the Lord” in vs. 15, 20. God has a purpose in his wrath. He has a million reasons for everything He does, and they all work together for our good and His glory. God knows that our greatest good in this life and the next is to know, love, and obey Him. So, to give us anything less than God is second best or worse. Loving anything or anyone more than God is called idolatry.
Thomas Jefferson is quoted as saying, “Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; and that His justice cannot sleep forever.” Jefferson was no believer, but reflect on the veracity of His statement. Could you imagine Jesus listening to our popular music, watching tv, watching a movie, listening to how we talk? If God is just, our country is in trouble.
Dear heavenly Father, we come to you in Jesus’ name by the power of the Holy Spirit. We ask You to soften our hard, stubborn hearts. When we read the Bible keep us from being the righteous people in the story. Help us to see the Pharisee in us. Remind us that we are like the self-righteous religious person, or the hard-hearted sinner. But also, clearly help us to see the overwhelming grace of God that covers all our sins because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.